Featuring scholarly and practitioner insights from HR and people leaders, industry experts, and researchers.

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Dr. Andrea Hollingsworth about "radical self-compassion" and why it is important in leadership. Dr. Andrea Hollingsworth (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-hollingsworth-ph-d-0644058b/) is Founder and CEO of Hollingsworth Consulting, author of the bestselling book The Compassion Advantage: How Top Leaders Build More Humanizing Workplaces (2024), and a leading global expert on compassion and self-compassion in life and leadership.

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Claire Croft & Phil Lewis about the power of people-centric change in today's business landscape. In the realm of business transformation, Corporate Punk stands apart. Co-founded by Phil and Claire, this dynamic duo brings a refreshing approach to organizational evolution. Claire, an advocate for unlocking human potential, believes that true success emerges when each individual's talents are harnessed and magnified. Her strategic acumen and business-minded focus breathe life into her clients' visions. Phil, on the other hand, dismantles the myth that emotions and creativity have no place in business. He champions the power of people in building or rebuilding enterprises. Through Corporate Punk, they embed humanity into the core of corporate giants, introducing a new operating system that aligns ideas, energy, and direction.

This video examines how leaders can apply concepts from complexity theory to take a systems-based approach to navigating organizational complexity. It first defines key ideas from complexity science such as complexity theory, which views organizations as existing in a state of productive tension at the "edge of chaos" rather than under pure control, a systems approach that recognizes organizations as interconnected networks of interdependent parts, and complex adaptive systems characterized by self-organization. The video then discusses how leaders can establish clear yet flexible goals and direction, loosen central control to allow decentralized experimentation, promote transparency, and embrace diversity to foster conditions for bottom-up self-organization. It also explores developing networked mindsets through cross-functional teams, relationship building, and transparent information sharing to enhance emergent coordination. Additionally, the video emphasizes cultivating attentiveness to subtle changes and disturbances by establishing early warning systems and experimenting quickly, as well as nurturing an adaptive culture through innovation, reskilling, and rapid pilot-based learning to sustainably renew the organization amid nonlinearity and uncertainty.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with  Claire Croft & Phil Lewis about the power of people-centric change in today's business landscape. In the realm of business transformation, Corporate Punk stands apart. Co-founded by Phil and Claire, this dynamic duo brings a refreshing approach to organizational evolution. Claire, an advocate for unlocking human potential, believes that true success emerges when each individual's talents are harnessed and magnified. Her strategic acumen and business-minded focus breathe life into her clients' visions. Phil, on the other hand, dismantles the myth that emotions and creativity have no place in business. He champions the power of people in building or rebuilding enterprises. Through Corporate Punk, they embed humanity into the core of corporate giants, introducing a new operating system that aligns ideas, energy, and direction.   Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network (https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/HCI) !

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with with Jonathan Bennett about navigating the emotional journey of a merger or acquisition of your company. Jonathan Bennett, (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennettjonathan/) provides sought-after leadership coaching and strategic counsel to CEOs, executive teams, politicians, and boards of directors across Canada. With experience in urban, rural, remote, and First Nations communities, Jonathan’s expertise is in social purpose business strategy, governance, branding, change, and communications. Prior to coaching, Jonathan Bennett founded Laridae, a management consulting and training firm that helps non-profit and public sector organizations soar. Laridae has now served more than 200 clients.

This video explores how organizations can cultivate a thriving learning culture, which is crucial for success in today's knowledge-based economy. It defines the key dimensions that characterize a learning culture based on an analysis of relevant academic literature. Practical recommendations and examples are then provided for establishing organizational commitment to learning, facilitating open dialogue and inquiry, building collaborative team learning, fostering a systems perspective, and empowering employees towards collective success. Consulting and research experience across industries illustrates the immense value learning cultures provide through increased innovation, engagement, and performance. The video serves as a guide for leaders seeking to assess their current culture and identify opportunities to foster lifelong learning at every level within their organization. Cultivating a learning culture requires strategic priority and sustained effort but, as evidenced, can future-proof companies in dynamic business environments.

Abstract: This article argues that organizations should embrace hiring and retaining older workers due to the many benefits they provide. It dispels common myths that skills and abilities necessarily decline with age by reviewing research showing cognitive abilities remain strong into one's 60s and experience can offset physical declines. The article then presents five key advantages of older workers: they excel at soft skills like leadership and problem-solving; have lower turnover rates which save on training costs; can mentor younger employees and transfer institutional knowledge; bring diversity of perspectives that fuels innovation; and through experience, are able to offset potential physical job limitations. Industry examples from sectors like pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, consulting and retail are given. Overall, the article makes the case that an age-diverse workforce maximizes talent if organizations adopt policies like flexible work arrangements, ongoing skills training, leadership promoting inclusion, and fair performance reviews.

Abstract: This article examines the neurological bases of trust and how an awareness of unconscious trust processes can help leaders foster trusting relationships and high-performing teams. On a basic level, the brain's socioemotional circuitry generates rapid, automatic trust judgments when assessing new people or situations. Regions like the amygdala, insula, and orbitofrontal cortex evaluate factors like similarity, attractiveness, emotional expressions, body language, and facial features to determine trustworthiness outside of conscious control. While these reflexive processes conferred an evolutionary advantage, they can misfire or introduce biases in modern contexts if not guided by higher-level reasoning. The article discusses how implicit biases around these factors can impact trust dynamics. It also outlines techniques leaders can use to strategically manage first impressions and behaviors over time - through consistency, competency, care, and relationship building - to establish trust at both implicit and explicit levels. Understanding the interplay between conscious and unconscious trust judgments allows for optimizing organizational culture.